The Armenian Youth Federation, Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern United States would like to announce that the Intern application for the 2020 AYF Internship in Armenia is now open. The dates of the program will be finalized in the coming weeks and will take place from mid-June to mid-August.
The AYF Internship in Armenia program was started in 1992 to encourage Armenians in the Diaspora to visit and volunteer in Armenia. Over the past 26 years, the AYF has sent over 180 participants and organized internships with Armenia’s universities, hospitals, clinics, healthcare and support centers, as well as its engineering and technology companies. The Internship in Armenia program turns the homeland into a reality by exposing interns to the people and culture of present-day Armenia.
The program seeks motivated people who are willing to devote their summer to volunteer in Armenia. The Diaspora serves as a valuable resource in the growth and stability of Armenia, and as an intern, you can contribute to Armenia’s progress. Volunteers are placed in government agencies, private companies and NGOs related to their career or interests. Internships are available in almost every field. During the week, interns volunteer at their assigned internship. On the weekends, interns embark on tours outside of Yerevan, including overnight trips to Artsakh and Javakhk. The Internship Director will also provide opportunities for interns to attend weekly lecture series, cultural events and any other activities in which there’s interest. Applicants must be between 18 and 28 years of age and have a valid U.S. passport. AYF membership is not necessary.
The application has a soft deadline of February 1st and a hard deadline of March 1st.
If you are interested in a two-month summer internship program in Yerevan, where you will climb the mountains and hills of Armenia, swim in the waters of Lake Sevan, interact with the villagers of Datev and explore the churches of every corner of Armenia, then don’t hesitate to apply to the 2020 AYF-YOARF Internship in Armenia program!
Please contact the 2020 Central Internship Council via email at internship@ayf.org if you have any questions.
Founded in 1933, The Armenian Youth Federation is an international, non-profit, youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The AYF-YOARF Eastern United States stands on five pillars that guide its central activities and initiatives: Educational, Hai Tahd, Social, Athletic and Cultural. The AYF also promotes a fraternal attitude of respect for ideas and individuals amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that allow members of the organization to work together to realize the AYF’s objectives.
2019 AYF Internship Director Sahak Zakarian pictured fourth from the left with AYF interns in Arajamugh
The Armenian Youth Federation Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern United States is seeking an able, qualified and driven Director for the 2020 AYF Internship in Armenia program that will take place from mid-June through mid-August. Exact dates will be finalized in the coming weeks. The Director must be in Yerevan prior to the AYF Interns’ arrival for set up.
Interested applicants for the position should fluently speak Armenian and ideally have spent a substantial time in Yerevan and have become accustomed to the local lifestyle in Armenia.
While the position is not a paid one, the travel to and from Armenia for the Director is covered by the AYF-YOARF, along with housing during the Internship. Applicants must know that this position requires great responsibility such as coordinating daily activities and excursions for the interns outside of their respective jobs. It is also required for the Director to live with the interns over the two-month duration of the program.
Qualifications:
Must speak Armenian fluently;
Must be a strong and quick communicator and be easily accessible via technology;
Must have spent significant time in Armenia;
Must be comfortable leading a small group of college-age students for two months;
Must demonstrate the ability to work with and balance a large budget;
Must be at least 21 years of age.
Requirements:
With assistance from the Central Internship Council:
Use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and word of mouth (phone calls, emails, etc.) to promote the internship;
Plan and execute excursions (typically outside of Yerevan) for the weekends;
Find appropriate jobs and place interns in their chosen field of study;
Arrange house/apartment in Yerevan for the interns, along with handling communication with landlord (rent, utilities, etc.);
Communicate with the ARF Bureau Office of Youth Affairs in Armenia, local Armenian Relief Society (ARS) office, local Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), and arrange trips to these offices for the interns;
Facilitate introductions to other youth in Armenia including: AYF Armenia, AYF Western Region Youth Corps, AYF Canada Youth Corps, AYF Internship in Artsakh, AGBU interns and Birthright/Armenian Volunteer Corps;
Plan and execute an educational program as well as a community service project for interns;
Ensure interns are working 30 hours per week, attending Internship programs and excursions;
Facilitate interns’ blogging and collaborate with AYF PR committee;
Send daily or weekly updates to the Central Internship Council;
Write a comprehensive report after the program’s completion to share with Central Executive;
Give presentations to local communities/AYF chapters after the program’s completion and work with interns to do the same
All applications must be submitted by the hard deadline of March 1, 2020.
Please forward any questions you may have about the job description, the AYF Internship program, or the AYF-YOARF to the 2020 Central Internship Council at internship@ayf.org.
Founded in 1933, The Armenian Youth Federation is an international, non-profit, youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The AYF-YOARF Eastern United States stands on five pillars that guide its central activities and initiatives: Educational, Hai Tahd, Social, Athletic and Cultural. The AYF also promotes a fraternal attitude of respect for ideas and individuals amongst its membership. Unity and cooperation are essential traits that allow members of the organization to work together to realize the AYF’s objectives.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— To commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, Zoravik will be presenting a screening of a film about Hrant Dink followed by a discussion of the film and of Dink’s legacy. The event will take place on January 19, 2020 at 7:30 pm in Harvard’s Fong Auditorium in Boylston Hall. The event will be free and open to the public.
The evening will feature a screening of the 40-minute long documentary, Heart of Two Nations, Hrant Dink: Conversation with Nouritza Matossian, filmed and produced by biographer, director and human rights activist Nouritza Matossian. Heart of Two Nations features private interview footage collected while Dink faced several charges for “insulting Turkishness,” was prosecuted and sentenced to a suspended six-month imprisonment, and was warned to leave the country after receiving death threats for writing about the abuses and rights of disadvantaged ethnic groups living in Turkey as well as his own Armenian compatriots. Attesting to the uniqueness of this first-person footage collected prior to Dink’s assassination, Amnesty International has described the documentary as a “deeply engaging and moving” film that stands as “a unique record of a remarkable journalist and editor’s life and work.” The film won the Public Prize at Toronto’s Pomegranate Film Festival in 2008 after its release on the first anniversary of Dink’s assassination.
After viewing the award-winning documentary, Dr. Ohannes Kilicdagi, a historian and columnist at Agos, will moderate an interactive, open-mic conversation with audience members about the documentary, the assassination, and Dink’s impact.
Zoravik (“in solidarity”) is a Boston-based Armenian activist collective that promotes new avenues for political and grassroots organizing and project-based engagement for progressives. Formed in the wake of the Velvet Revolution, the group seeks to mobilize the political, cultural, and social institutions of the diaspora to support and encourage transformative efforts in Armenian communities worldwide. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/zoravik or email zoravik@gmail.com.
WATERTOWN, Mass.—Homenetmen (HMEM) scouts traveled door-to-door caroling in Armenian homes throughout the suburban neighborhoods of Greater Boston on Sunday evening in celebration of Armenian Christmas Eve.
“I am thrilled that we passed the tradition onto the younger generation and that our house is filled with our community’s youth who are carrying Homenetmen’s mission to generations to come,” said longtime HMEM member Avo Barmakian. Barmakian is a founding father of this beloved tradition. Thirty years ago, a small troop would travel to just a handful of houses, but today, the Boston chapter enlists over 30 scouts to visit 20 houses.
Preparation for the annual event begins almost a month in advance. In addition to calling homeowners they’ve visited in years prior, leaders of the athletic and scouting organization reach out to new families in the community and add them to their growing list. Scouts then practice the carols during their weekly meetings every Saturday afternoon.
On Armenian Christmas Eve in decorated living rooms with glistening Christmas trees and captive audiences, the Boston scouts shared the sounds of the season, singing Armenian versions of “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night” and other popular holiday songs.
Bella Khachatourian of Lexington said that waiting for the scouts to arrive at her doorstep is a tradition that she and her family look forward to every year. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.
After caroling, scouts mingled with host families and their guests, delighting in homemade sweets and other desserts. Guests also generously donated to the chapter in exchange for HMEM tree ornaments and calendars.
“The best part is how excited the kids get,” said Gagoughtatig leader Marie Bazarbashian, “seeing that smile and being able to share that happiness with the Armenian community on Christmas is what it’s all about.”
Kristina Ayanian is a recent graduate of Bentley University with a double major in finance and global studies and a minor in corporate communications. She was a reporter for ABC's Teen Kids News, whose episode interviewing Prince Edward of England was nominated for the 2014 Emmy's. She enjoys performing and has been invited to sing and play piano at Carnegie Hall.
There she was standing before me—Knarig—the woman who would be my host mom for the next two months in Armenia. She was a short, thin, middle-aged woman, with short black hair and pale skin, wearing a fitted silk black tank top and loose jeans folded up at the bottom. She had on no bra and no makeup, with bags under her eyes and a smile not quite as reassuring as I had hoped.
I remembered the long speech our executive director, Sevan, had given the Birthright Armenia volunteers a few hours before:
“Your host families might be a little cautious and distrustful when you first meet. Most of them hold an opinion of Diasporans; they think you have an air of superiority, and it might take some time to build trust. Talk to them. Have no expectations. Buy groceries—cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread. Try to live by their rules. Your home won’t be the same as it was where you came from, but get used to it. The key word is immersion. If you were here as a tourist, you’d stay at the Marriott for two weeks. You’re here to become immersed with the land, the culture, and the people.”
Knarig was standing off to the side, leaning against the wall, as the driver left the rest of my bags in my new room. “Hi, how are you?” I asked in the little Eastern Armenian that I knew how to speak so far.
“Fine,” she said softly. The driver left us, although I hoped he would stay in order to ease some of the awkwardness in the room.
“You have a very nice home,” I said. From the outside, the apartment looked old and rundown, but on the inside, it was fairly modern, neat and spacious, with oriental rugs, bright yellow pillows, and a fox fur with the head still attached on the couch as decoration. This would have been strange to any other person except one whose family had a similar decoration in their home. I always thought it was bizarre and barbaric, but now I would make this fox head my new ally.
“My aunts have something just like this,” I said, stroking the fur of the animal as we sat on the couch.
“Ha?” she asked. “It’s from Ukraine. My daughter bought it for me.” “
“Oh, your daughter is in Ukraine?”
“Yes, I have three daughters—two of them moved to Ukraine and got married. They are older and they each have kids.” She spoke so fast and in Eastern Armenian, a dialect that sounded so different from the one I spoke, that it seemed like a completely different language. Although I was fluent in Armenian, it was in the Western dialect, and already I was straining trying to understand her.
“The other one, who you’ll meet, lives here with me. I’ll show you pictures someday.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand you,” I said. “What was that again?”
“My other daughter, she lives here. She’s your age. You’re 28, right? She’s a few years younger. She’s still sleeping.”
I nodded and smiled.
“You must be tired. Do you want to take a nap?”
“Sure,” I said. “It’s been a long flight.”
I went to my room and started to unpack, which mainly consisted of organizing my suitcase and hanging up my dresses on the coat rack near my bed. I expected my living quarters to be in a tiny corner of the apartment, but it was as big as my room at home, with a bed in the middle of the room, a nightstand and a little table with a mirror near the balcony It overlooked Vernissage, the most popular shopping district in Yerevan. The curtains on the balcony, adorned with handcrafted little butterflies, made me think that Knarig and I might just get along. I continued unpacking, leaving the door open in case Knarig wanted to come in.
“Vayyy, look at all those shoes! You must have 20 pairs here!” she commented on my neat array of flip-flops, sandals, high heels and one pair of sneakers.
“I have a problem overpacking,” I laughed.
“Taleen, the girl who stayed here before you, only brought five,” she laughed and touched my arm.
“I might bring 20 shoes, but only end up wearing five or so. Your sandals are so cute, too,” I commented on her shiny black flip-flops with a silver flower attached on the middle.
“Merci, this is my favorite pair.” She lifted her foot up to show it off, then scanned the room some more.
“Two suitcases! You are only here for six weeks, Nayiri jan!” Jan is a word often used in Armenian after someone’s name as a sign of endearment. I looked at my suitcases and shoes, already feeling like the spoiled American who owns too many things and hoping Knarig didn’t see me as one.
“Do you want some soorj?” she asked.
“Sure, I’d love some.”
The kitchen was small, but filled with the necessities, salt, pepper, pita bread, peaches, oghi (vodka) and soorj (Armenian coffee). A TV with antennas was playing Russian soap operas in the background. “What is this about?” I asked. She tried to explain one of the many convoluted plot lines, but the only words I picked up were rich, poor, Russian gangs, lies and love. “Well, that sounds pretty similar to the ones in America, too, if you substitute the word Russian for Italian.”
“Ha?” Knarig let out a loud, enthusiastic laugh, a sound that I’d hear often later and could still hear to this day. Knarig continued watching the soaps and talking to me. “Ooordegheets es?” (Where are you from?)
“I’m from New York,” I said, “and my family is from Lebanon.”
“Oh, New York. I’ve seen it in pictures, tall buildings and bright lights. You know what country I am dying to visit? Paris!”
“Me too,” I said. “I’ve been wanting to go there forever! It seems so romantic and beautiful. Maybe one day.”
“Why haven’t you gone yet?” she asked.
“Well, I wanted to come to Armenia—it’s my homeland. Besides, maybe one day when I can afford it, I’ll visit Paris,” I said, hoping that she’d realize that even though I have 20 pairs of shoes, I’m not the type who can afford to travel wherever and whenever I want.
“I think it’s great what you all are doing—coming back to Armenia to work here. It is your country, too,” she said.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I smiled, surprised, wondering if she really meant what she said. “Last time I visited in 2007, a cab driver once told me I’m not a real Armenian because I don’t live here. But I was raised Armenian, I speak Armenian. My roots are in Armenia and I really do love Hayastan.” I wondered if Knarig really believed what I said.
Then, Knarig introduced me to her daughter.
“Are you awake?” she asked Takuhi, which means queen in Armenian. “It’s 1:00 pm already. Wake up. Nayiri is here.” Takuhi murmured something in her half-conscious state and rolled around, almost naked under her sheets. Takuhi was very quiet and very skinny, a college student studying biology and surprisingly not mathematics, a more popular major in Yerevan.
***
Dear Mom,
I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely in Yerevan. I don’t know how to call home yet (I tried and failed) but I will try to find out tomorrow at the office and call you then. My host family is nice—the apartment is sort of run down and very hot with no fans or AC, but the host mother seems very hospitable and friendly and my room is very spacious. I feel a little weird and lost now not knowing anyone, but I am sure that will change soon. Talk to you tomorrow. Love, Nayiri
***
The next morning, waking up in a still unfamiliar room, I was glad to walk out and see a more familiar face. “Let me know when you want to take a shower. I’ll turn it on for you,” Knarig said. Why does she want me to let her know? Turn it on? Can she intuitively predict my confusion when it comes to turning on different shower faucets?
“I’m ready,” I said, holding my towel and shower caddy in my hands, feeling slightly like a foreign exchange student in a Soviet-style dormitory. Knarig threw a match in the water heater inside the shower and told me to wipe the floor clean when I was done, since there was no shower curtain. Well, this is different, I thought, as I held up the shower rod to different parts of my body, at the same time taking in the smell of gas and the view of a small fire in the tank in front of me.
“I may go out tonight with some volunteers,” I told Knarig, as I ate the boiled egg with pita bread that she would make for me for breakfast every morning.
“Oh, that’s nice,” she said, washing the dishes.
“Is there a spare key I can have to get in the apartment? I don’t want to wake you up.”
“I don’t give keys, Nayiri jan. I just stay up and open the door. What time do you think you’ll be home?”
“I’m not sure—one, maybe two.”
“Vayyy, that’s late! I hope you can be here sooner. I just can’t go to sleep otherwise. Taleen, who stayed here before you, kept saying ‘why can’t I stay out late,’ and I told her ‘you are like my daughter and I will be so worried about you if you are not home. I won’t be able to go to sleep.’” Guilt trips and overprotective Armenian moms—suddenly I was feeling more at home.
“I’ll try,” I fabricated the truth in the same way I used to with my mom when I was a teenager. Now I was an adult, and I’d been on my own, setting my own rules, since I was in college. Suddenly, I was transported back into the world of curfews.
***
Hey Vahak,
Armenia is good :) unfortunately my Internet doesn’t work at my host family’s house, but that is really the least of the ghettoness that I am living in now, lol. I am totally slumming it…my apartment has a shower with a gas tank that you need to light with a match in order for it to work, which my host mother does for me every morning. She is really nice, but ALWAYS home, either cooking or cleaning or doing laundry. (I don’t know how she does it) and it’s pretty difficult to communicate in the Eastern dialect, but I am trying. I have a host sister, Takuhi, who is the complete opposite…always out, going to class or working somewhere part-time, or with her “unger” (boyfriend). So it can get pretty lonely when there’s nothing to do and its boiling hot, but I’m starting to meet more people and hanging out with them.
***
That night, some of the volunteers and I went to a club in the center of Yerevan. I met up with one of the volunteers in front of the Opera House, a place often populated by kids at all hours of the day, rolling around in scooters, and foreigners meeting up to go to mysterious underground bars which had no name. “Where is the club we’re going to?” I asked Jessica, a volunteer from Brazil, as we walked down Northern Avenue in Yerevan.
“I went once before. It should be on this street. It’s called That Place.”
“What place?”
“That Place.”
I expected an Armenian or Russian name, or maybe one resembling an American chain that had been slightly modified, as was done with Victoria Secret—now Victoria’s Secret.
We were lost, walking up and down Northern Avenue looking for the no name bar, getting stared at, sometimes hit on, sometimes laughed at by locals, which by now, I learned to just accept as a part of my unique experience in Armenia.
“Oor ah That Place?” I asked some locals walking around. By now, I knew some basics in Eastern Armenian—like changing “eh” (is) to “ah,” the “g” to “k”, and I was convinced adding an “oum” or “eets” at the end of any word would automatically convert it to Eastern Armenian.
“Kaleh ays poghots, asdeejaneets var gnah. Go down the stairs. It is next to the parking lot,” he said.
“Chem hasganoum. Parking lotseets kovn ah?” (I don’t understand. It’s next to a parking lot?) I asked him. I’m not sure if it was the words I didn’t understand or the concept of a club being next to the parking lot. “The guy just told me it’s down the stairs in an underground parking lot.” It was like heading down the stairway to hell. Northern Avenue itself was open, breezy, slow, calm, brightly lit, and quiet. It seemed as though the underground scene in Yerevan was the complete opposite—loud, dark, fast and hot, especially with 500 people crammed into a small space. Anything but calm.
“I guess That Place was too cool to have a name,” I laughed. And apparently, it was where all the cool kids went—the underage Diasporans, the Armenian men hunting for underage Diasporans, the American/European tourists, the volunteers, the Diasporans turned locals, and some Armenian women. The cigarette smoke hit us in the face as we walked in, with the famous song—“We No Speak Americano”– that ironically always seemed to be playing everyplace, from the cars to the cafes and now, ‘That Place.’ We bumped our way to the bar.
“The owner here is from Lebanon,” Jessica said. “He’s really nice.” Finally, I thought, I can speak Western Armenian.
I met some of the other volunteers who were from all over the world—Greece, London, Canada, Brazil and, of course, California, which was the little Armenia of the US. A few girls on the dance floor were bumping and grinding with their friends and with guys, their hands in the air, yelling the lyrics of the song. Those must be the Americans, I laughed to myself. It was harder to distinguish the local Armenian men from the Diasporans since they all shared two common traits, dark hair and charm, both of which they’d use to their full advantage. Slicking their hair back, gelling it up, showing it off through their shirts, they smiled often and laughed at everything women said, and then smiled often and laughed at everything other women said. Varouj, one of the volunteers, was one of these men. He oozed masculinity and sweat mixed with cologne. “I want to live in Armenia,” he told me. I’d heard this before and thought about it myself, but his reasons were different.
“Really?” I asked him. “Just don’t turn into a ‘rabiz’.” Rabiz was a word I learned from my students. Rabiz men, they warned me, were sneaky, greedy and womanizing, usually wearing dressy black pants and pointy black shoes.
“Are you kidding? That’s the life! Dating multiple girls at the same time. That’s why I want to marry an Armenian woman and live here.” It felt like it was 2003 again and I was at my first Rutgers college party in a pretend frat called Squam. I hated Squam, but That Place was different. It was full of Armenians from everywhere trying to have fun, and that’s what made it feel like my place.
“So, what’s your host mom like?” Jessica asked me as we sat at the bar.
“She’s pretty nice, except she freaked out when I told her I was coming home at two AM and won’t give me a key to the apartment.”
“Oh, you’re with Knarig, right? I knew the girl who stayed there before you, and she’d complain all the time. She told Knarig that it was the summertime and she was going to have fun because she worked hard during the day.”
Done, I thought. That’s what I’ll say. I talked to a few others about their host families and was really surprised when nobody made a complaint. I heard things like, “I love them. My little host brothers and sisters are so cute. My host mom is so nice. The host dad has dinner with us every night and makes me laugh.” How is this possible? They have to be exaggerating when they say they love them, or they must be dancing it up with house keys in their purses and no fear of sleeping outside if they are late for curfew.
That night I came home around 2:00 am. I quietly knocked on the door, thinking that maybe the quieter my knock was, the less loud Knarig would be.
“Ayyy, Nayiri, you are late, I couldn’t sleep,” she said softly and stumbled around in the dark. It looked and sounded like she was sleeping.
“I’m sorry. I lost track of time.”
“This can’t become a habit. It would be understandable once a week, but any more than that and I have to talk to Sevan.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, “but I’m only here for six weeks. I’ll be working hard every day and I would like to be able to have some fun, too.” I remembered what Jessica told me to say. “I’m not going to stay out late every night, just two, maybe three times a week.”
“No,” she insisted, “I can’t stay up so you can phrrah (jump around) on the streets. If you have a problem with it, talk to Sevan and think about staying somewhere else.” Is she really threatening to kick me out over this? I thought, feeling abandoned in a country where I had no other home.
“Okay.” I tried to stick to her rules, hoping she’d forget about them eventually.
***
Dear Mom,
Hope all is well at home. I went out to dinner with Arthur and Yevgineh (my mom’s friends) Tuesday night (I think…my concept of time is a little off, hehe). They were both very insistent I stay with them after hearing about the conditions at my apartment. I was worried about the shower and the heat and not having anyone else in the house aside from Knarig, but I think this challenging experience will show me the reality of living in Armenia and really being on my own more than it would staying at Arthur’s. Plus I feel like I sound spoiled when I talk about the shower and heat—I mean, can you believe people here live like this every day? I only have to do it for 6 weeks and I think I will grow stronger by the end. I am excited and still nervous about the rest of my time here. I get bored when I’m home and it is hard to communicate with my host mother, but I am reading a lot and enjoying spending time with new friends (and alone). I’m glad I am adapting well for the most part. And yes, I am very excited about the Karapagh trip! I loved it last time I went. I am free after 6:00 pm if you want to call me.
Love,
Nayiri
(P.S. I’ve attached a picture of me teaching today. Sharistan, the Armenian Volunteer Corps director took…I didn’t even know she took the picture until I saw it posted on the AVC website on Facebook!)
***
One Saturday, I woke up to the sound of giggling in the kitchen next door. It was Knarig and another woman. It reminded me of Saturday mornings at my childhood home when I’d wake up and hear laughter as I went up the stairs. My mom, grandmother and aunts would be gathered around the living room, drinking Armenian coffee, talking about Armenian affairs and asking me what I’d like for breakfast. Usually it was crepe pancakes with a special syrup mixed with a splash of wine and a slice of Sarkis dede’s cheese. My grandmother would make crepe pancakes while humming Armenian songs in the kitchen as I watched Saturday cartoons with my brother. Sarkis dede was my maternal grandfather, who owned a cheese-making factory. He had died before I was born. I knew him by his cheese and his strong, soldier-like stance in pictures. “I want some pancakes, and Sarkis dede’s cheese!” I’d say. And my mom would usually ask me to speak Armenian, “Pancake yev baneer goozem hajees!”
“Nayiri jan, paree luys (good morning). What do you want for breakfast?” asked Knarig. “We have cheese, tomatoes, bread. I just bought these peaches. They’re fresh. Here, sit down. This is Irina. She lives upstairs.”
“Parev, vonts ek?” (Hello, how are you?) I couldn’t shake the resemblance Irina had to my grandmother. It was like seeing a ghost. She had a long nose, light brown hair wrapped in a bun, and green eyes, just like my Nanig. My instinct was to give her a big hug and tell her how much I missed her.
“Fine, thank you. What is your name?”
“Nayiri.” This was definitely one of my favorite things about Armenia. I didn’t have to worry about repeating my name because everyone knew how to pronounce it (even though I had learned early on it was commonly given to boys in Armenia).
“Happy to meet you,” Irina smiled, examining the boxers and tank top that I was wearing. She said something in Russian to Knarig who also responded in Russian. This was like my family speaking to each other in Arabic when they didn’t want me and my brother to know what they were saying.
“Irina is Russian, but married to an Armenian.”
“Oh,” I said, “Russian is like the second language here, competing with English.” I started making a cheese, tomato and olive sandwich from the spread on the kitchen table.
“Ha, the country is very much Soviet-inspired,” Knarig said. “I kind of miss the days of Communism. At least everyone was equal then. We had equal pay and equal living conditions. Now everyone is trying to make their own profit and open their own business. It builds competition and creates corruption.”
“Well, at least people have the freedom of opening up their own business and owning their own home.” The subject then started to change to one topic only—how much money I make.
“Where are you from?” Irina asked me.
“America,” I told her.
“She’s a teacher,” Knarig said.
“How much do you make?” Irina continued.
“Not very much,” I laughed.
“Like 40,000? 50,000? 60,000?”
“Sure, around that.”
“What do teachers make in America?” Knarig asked. I didn’t know what to say to change the subject.
“It depends on how long they’ve been teaching, and what credentials they have.”
“Do you get a raise every year?” Irina continued. I told her yes, but it’s very little.
“Do you have any brothers and sisters?” Finally, a less uncomfortable question.
“I have a brother. He’s a lawyer. Everyone says I look exactly like him. I don’t know if this is a compliment or if people are trying to say that I look like a man!”
“What do your mom and dad do?” I told them my mom was a bibliographer at Columbia University in New York and my father was a cardiologist before he died. Do you want to see pictures? I asked them. Yes! Of course!
“See this is me and my mom.” I showed them a picture of us from a wedding we attended. “My mom is a single mom with two kids, too,” I told Knarig. “This is me and my brother when we were little.” It was a picture I had scanned, where we were dressed up in traditional Armenian attire, a long blue and white garb for me and a blue vest for my brother, and we both looked like we didn’t want to be in those clothes. We were on our way to the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in New York, I told them. “These are me and my aunts and my uncle.” I showed them a picture of us taken in the living room by the Christmas tree.
“Oh, you look just like your mom,” Knarig said.
I was clicking through the pictures, and Knarig stopped me when she saw a blonde, blue- eyed man, my ex-boyfriend. “Wow, you know, he looks so American, blonde hair and blue eyes! Is this your type?”
“Well, I don’t really have a type.”
“The Armenian men are hairy, ah?” Knarig laughed.
“Yes,” I laughed back. “But so are the women! Plus, I like their dark hair and eyes. Oh, here is my grandma! I called her Nanig. You know, Irina, I was going to say you look so much like her!”
Irina looked at the picture again and smiled. Knarig then took out some of her old albums and started showing me pictures of her family and herself when she was younger. I always thought she was probably really pretty, and the picture confirmed it. She was standing in front of a gray building on a cloudy day. She had her arms around her two daughters, with a slight grin, long black hair, and a strong stance similar to my grandfather’s. “My oldest was taking the picture. See, look at my Takush there, look how little and cute she was!” Then, she showed me pictures of her grandkids; one of those photos was professionally taken, one with all of them with cigars in their mouths. She told me that her daughters sent her money regularly so that she doesn’t work. Her husband left her for another woman and moved to Ukraine, leaving her nothing but their old apartment and haunted memories of her crazy mother-in-law and his abuse.
“The men are crazy here in Armenia,” she said.
Unfortunately, I heard stories about them before. I remembered reading a story from one of my former students in Armenia whose husband forbid her to go to school or have a job. He made sure that her life would be completely dependent on him until she felt so trapped that, one day, she escaped and became a working, independent woman. I wondered if any of my students came from homes like this. When I first met them, they were so quiet and timid. During the first class, we went around the room and introduced ourselves. They were all there for one purpose, to improve their English skills so that they could transfer to a college outside of Armenia. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. Naturally I wanted them to have a better life, but I wanted them to create one in Armenia. I wondered if I was actually helping my country or really helping Armenia’s brightest, most promising students leave the country. We went around the room and every student said what they wanted to major in.
“I go to Yerevan State University and I’m majoring in mathematics.”
“I go to Yerevan State University and I’m majoring in mathematics.”
“I go to high school and I want to major in mathematics.”
Almost every student said math. This was shocking, not only because I was an English major and teacher and the thought of majoring in math was foreign to me, but also because it was hard to believe that every one of these students actually liked math enough to make a career out of it. I finally decided on a theme for the class after meeting them—individuality.
***
Hey Vahak,
I started my first day of work at the university last Thursday and my students are awesome…so smart, dedicated and well behaved (the dash on this computer doesn’t work lol). I gave them an assessment to test their level of English speaking and writing skills and I have to say (and kinda sad to say) that they are far better at it than my students at home. I have a lot of work to do in terms of planning for my classes, going to my other internship, and I’m also planning a week long workshop with another teacher on different teaching methodologies and examples of lessons. All in all, it’s been an exciting challenge to adapt to everything here, but I like it so far. How’s everything back home? I heard about some cafes with free WIFI so I’ll check those out once I find out where they’re located. Talk to you soon :)
***
We started reading Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds”—a story about a little Chinese girl from an immigrant family whose mother was insistent on her daughter becoming a prodigy, specifically a pianist. The daughter eventually ended up standing up to her mother, saying that she doesn’t like piano and can’t become a prodigy. This was a story I could also relate to—the conflict of wanting to please your parents and follow your own path at the same time. I can’t say that all the students stood up at the last class and exclaimed, “I found myself!” or “I no longer love math!” But one of my students, Harout, wrote this on his evaluation: “I like this class. My English improved. I like very much “I am what I am” lesson. I understand important things about America, about American family. It will be useful when I will come USA. A few years ago I don’t like English, now I like it very much.”
***
Vahak jan,
I had my second day of teaching today and somehow my students doubled in number…so now I have like 25 and need to split up the class into two. I made them sound much more literate than they are though (I’ve realized that today), so my work will be more difficult. A lesson I would give my students back home is pretty hard for them to get through and takes them much longer. I need to lower the level and amount of work I give a bit…that, or they need to learn really fast. The last few days have been stressful since I need to cram a whole unit’s worth of lessons into 13 periods (really, really hard). It sucks in terms of resources– I’ve been running around trying to find internet, printers and a copy machine– and it can get pretty costly printing out stories and hand-outs even for one day. AUA (where I taught a few years ago) was so awesome in that respect– I had free WIFI, a printer, and a friendly guy to make however many copies I wanted. There are 4 computers at my job– 3 of which are new and usually used by 2 other Hayastantsi volunteers and a guy hard of hearing (and I already felt bad enough using his computer for half an hour). So I don’t know what I’m supposed to do for internet, considering they take up the computers during my teaching hours. Even if I find a laptop European adapter (whatever it’s called) we don’t have wireless at work so I could only use Microsoft word (but at least it’s something). If it keeps going like this, I think I might have to stop caring as much and just lower the standards for myself and my students (which is so difficult for me to do).My other job at the orphanage-type place is cool and more laid back…I was hanging out with these two teenage girls yesterday and reading this book about a girl named Rosa and her poor Mexican immigrant family (the book selection in their library is pretty bad). P.S. Yerevan’s bugs love me. I think I might have bed bugs. I’m itching like crazy. How’s the job search going?
***
“Vayyy, shok ah cheh?” Shok. It was the first time I’d heard this word, but over the next few weeks, I’d hear this phrase not only from Knarig’s mouth, but almost everyone’s in Armenia. And it was “shok” indeed, very “hot.” Very few places had air conditioning, including my apartment. I was instructed to not leave the fan on in my room at night to conserve electricity. Waking up sweating became routine after awhile. Waking up with bug bites, on the other hand, had become very uncomfortable. What I didn’t realize was the conversation with Knarig about my bites would be even more uncomfortable.
“Knarig, I have these bites all over my body and I’m wondering if they came from the apartment.”
“What? The apartment?” It was clear I offended her without intending to.
“Well, I keep waking up with them, and someone told me it could be bed bugs, so I wanted to ask you.”
“Bed bugs! I keep this apartment very clean!” she continued. “How can you accuse me of something like that?”
“I’m not accusing you. I just don’t know where they are coming from and I want them to go away.”
“Maybe you are bringing them from America. Or maybe the bugs are coming in through the balcony doors because of all the Diet Coke you leave lying around the room. She started picking up the bottles of Coke as if she wanted to throw them at me. “See? Here, look at this. Half drunken Diet Coke. And look at this. A bag of cranberries. The bugs are attracted to the sugar. I didn’t want to tell you anything, but now that you are saying I have bugs, maybe I should.”
She stormed out of the room and I was left in complete shock, not knowing what words I said that could have warranted this type of response. I could hear her rambling on underneath her breath in the kitchen.
“I have to leave the apartment. Let’s go out,” I texted my friend. “Knarig is scaring me.” I said bye to Knarig as I left, but she didn’t respond. This silent treatment continued on for the next day. I talked to Sevan about it the next day, and he made me realize that accusing her of having bed bugs was more a sign of disrespect in Armenia than it would probably be in America. He told me to just apologize and try to live by her rules.
“She’s saying that you are coming home late every night,” he told me.
“What?” I was shocked. “Why would she say something like that? It definitely hasn’t been every night. I have to wake up for work every morning. Why would I do that?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“I don’t know where the bug bites are coming from. I leave the door open at night because she won’t let me keep the fan on,” I said, still feeling angry, but also that I had betrayed Knarig somehow.
“I’ll talk to her about the fan. You just work on getting on her good side.”
I thought I was, but I guess it was more complicated than I thought. After Sevan talked to her, she let me keep the fan on and the bites stopped. I bought her some groceries and chocolate to apologize for any misunderstanding, but she said respect and understanding would be much nicer than candy.
***
Dear Nay,
There was this guy on the train, speaking an English dialect I don’t understand, who I think was performing some sort of voodoo curse on everyone. This lasted for over 120 streets of subway travel. It got pretty annoying.
Vahak,
Hah! Maybe it was an alien language that only he understood. I miss the crazies in New York. If you’re home, go on FB chat!
Nayiri
***
“I like you, Nayiri,” Knarig said, after putting the candy in the cabinet, “but I don’t want you to tell me I have bugs in my own home.”
“I understand, Knarig jan,” I said, “I didn’t mean anything by it and I think you misunderstood. I like you, too, and I hope I can still stay here.”
“Of course you can!” she smiled. “Let’s go have some dinner!” She made me some soup with large chunks of meat with the fat still on them. I ate most of it despite my initial hesitation, as she asked me how my work was going. “You are lesson planning all the time!” she said. “You must be working hard with those students.”
And it was true. Considering there was no TV and no internet, I would often spend my nights planning lessons or grading in my room, while Knarig would come in to dry clothes outside on the balcony or to ask me if I needed anything. “I love them,” I said. “I’m so surprised by their desire to learn. They do their homework. They come prepared every day. They ask questions and participate. I can’t believe some of them are only 16 and 17; they seem so wise beyond their years.” Knarig smiled. “I might quit my job in New York and work here full time!” And I actually meant it.
“Oh, why not? A lot of people are doing it now. Everyone here wants to get out, and all of you want to come in!” she laughed.
***
“You know, she died on that bed,” Knarig pointed down the hall to my room. It was another Sunday morning and it was the second time Irina was over. We were gathered around the kitchen table drinking Armenian coffee and gossiping about other Armenians. I was already beginning to feel more Armenian.
“What! Really?” I laughed. At the same time, I couldn’t help being a little freaked out. My hard mattress, with a yellow and green-checkered print that I thought had been part of a sofa for this long, was actually haunted by an old Armenian woman.
“Ha (yes), oh, was she a handful! Irina knows. She was very sick, but she was very rude to me and would drive me crazy. Every minute, she would ring the bell I had given her in case she needed anything. But she would ring it all the time! Ding ding ding! Most of the time, she would ring the bell just to wake me up. I’d go to her room, and she would say, ‘I just wanted to talk.’”
Irina and I looked at each other and smiled.
“See that balcony? She sat and flashed all of Vernissage once! I said, vayy, she is starting to lose her mind!”
“You’re kidding!” I said.
“Then, one day, in the middle of the night, I went to her room. I said, she hasn’t rung her bell in a while, let me see how she is doing. She wasn’t moving. She wasn’t breathing. My husband was away. I didn’t know what to do, so I called Irina.”
“And I told her, let’s just leave the body here till the morning,” Irina continued, “So her body was lying there all night.” Wow, chills. I felt like I was holding a secret that only a few people knew about. From that day on, I always felt a little strange sleeping on that bed.
***
What up Nay,
Learning their dialect is like learning a new language, but you know a few of the words. I would be ripping the little hair I have remaining out! Boiling water tanker…That must be fun… Do you take quick showers? Or take long ones and piss them off?
I’m guessing “unger” is friend?
That’s awesome, it sounds like you’re living it up… Well not yet, you’re probably just building up contacts still. By next week you will have many “ungers”, and you’re going to have crazy Armenian men proposing to you.
You always hear about Armenians being dedicated to school. According to random statistics I’ve read Armenia has a 99.4% literacy rate: One of the highest in the world.
Sorry Nay, I am not surprised that they speak better than people from the Bronx. And I don’t think it’s sad. It shows what kind of people us Hyes are.
I’m happy you’re enjoying it.
Back home it’s been hot and humid. We’ve been hitting 95+ for over a week now. And there were some crazy thunderstorms out now. Luckily we have AC :) Aside from that, trying to live it up, but getting beat up at work like every day.
Here’s a quick story for you: I’m in a really important meeting on Friday. My friend at work knew this. So to try to mess with me, he sent me a text message of a naked woman on my phone. Bastard caught me by surprise. I couldn’t help myself but laugh in the middle of the meeting.
Vahak
***
“They all cheat on their wives with two to three mistresses and all the mistresses fight over the man. How crazy! Fighting over a man who is cheating on you!” Knarig continued her speech on the men in Armenia.
“The man upstairs (he can probably hear me now complaining about him, but I don’t care, I hope he does) is a big time cheat, too. He is much younger, but he plays on older, vulnerable woman. He tried to hit on me, but I told him ‘you have other women,’ go out with them. And the women come to his apartment and yell at each other.”
“Wow. Do you want me to punch him for you?” I laughed. “What was your ex-husband like?”
“Vayy, do you know what my ex-husband did? He left black and blue marks all over my face, all the time, and it got so bad I had to go to the police.” I couldn’t believe it. Nobody deserved this type of abuse. What I didn’t realize was that almost everybody got away with it in Armenia.
“What did the police do?”
“The police?” she laughed. “The police don’t do anything. They are abusers themselves. They laughed and said he is just being a man. They told me to wait, so I waited until my husband came and paid them off to let both of us go. Finally we split up, and I was better off.”
***
Vahak,
Yup, the dialect is like another language! My host mother, Knarig, is pretty funny, though—she was telling me how the men here are such scumbag players, having five girlfriends and/or cheating on their wives. She has this drama with this guy who lives upstairs (and if I understood her correctly…he’s 25 and she’s 55) who wants her and waits for her outside, but the girls he’s with apparently fight with each other for him and she doesn’t want to deal with that. She was talking smack about him pretty loud and said he can hear everything, but she doesn’t care. I told her to let me know what he looks like and I’ll punch him in the face for her. I don’t think she understood me. Her husband forced her out of work at a young age and then left her with 3 kids as he went off to Ukraine. Apparently such is life with some Hayastantsi men though.
That’s funny about the naked woman in the picture. Oh and boohoo about the heat there…you have AC! Well, I’m going out to dinner with a girl Gaya from Seattle (Seattle–weird huh?) tonight (last night was spent doing nothing but reading/planning so I’m forcing myself to go out on the town). I posted pics on FB…did you see them?
Nayiri
***
Some mornings, Knarig would wake me up for work. Other mornings, she would wake me up with a shot of tutti oghi (mulberry vodka) that had a following in Armenia even higher than its eighty-percent alcohol content. I heard a tap on my door three times. It was the tutti oghi doing it. “Wake up! Tutti oghi!” Knarig exclaimed. She would often drink it to go to sleep, and now apparently, to wake up.
“I can’t. I have work,” I said.
“Oh come on, one shot.”
“Okay.” I took two.
“Sovads es?” Knarig then asked me. After “shok ah, che?”, “sovads es?” was the second most commonly uttered question in Armenia, and it meant “are you hungry?” More specifically, it meant are you starving?
“You know, I’ve noticed people always use that word instead of hungry. Is there a reason? We usually say ‘anotee’ (hungry),” my curiosity finally prompted me to ask her.
“That’s because everyone is always starving. See, that word is somehow symbolic. People don’t think in average amounts. They don’t want some money, they want a lot of money. They don’t want a nice car, they want the best car. They don’t want an average apartment, they want a mansion. You are either very poor or very rich, very thin or very fat, very educated or a villager, very hungry or very full. And people are not just hungry, they are always sovadz. Starving for something more, and nobody is ever satisfied.” I wished I could offer a solution, but I didn’t know what else to do other than work.
“I’ll help you.” I started doing the dishes, by now remembering which sponge and water temperature is used for the coffee cups, and which one for the other dishes. Knarig was scrubbing down the walls with water and soap, as she wiped the heat off her face.
***
What’s poppin Vaks?
So I’m in an Internet cafe right now (using Russian gmail by the way) and it’s really dark with music blasting in here. A lot of them are like this. I feel like I should be holding a cocktail.
My showers are nice and quick…no time to stand around since I have to manually hold my showerhead. One of the perks of living in the projects. What what!
Yes, unger is friend except they use it for boyfriend here. My host sister’s unger’s name is Hayk and he’s this big conceited guy who is always touching her (at least the one time I met him). They have definitely stepped up their PDA here the last couple of years!
***
During one of my last few days in Armenia, I bought a gray jumper with orange, white and green beads on the top. It was too long on me and Knarig volunteered to hem it. I was getting ready to go out my second to last night in Armenia. Knarig was asking me where I was going and with whom from the kitchen next door, and I was yelling back that I was going to a goodbye party for some of the volunteers, naming the ones I had talked to her about. She didn’t ask me when I was coming home. She hadn’t asked me that dreaded question for quite some time, and when she did, I told her the truth and she told me to have fun, even if it was sometimes followed by an occasional laugh and “Vayy that’s late.” Once, she even opened the door for me and laughingly asked if I was drunk. “A little,” I laughed back and went to sleep.
“Here you go.” She handed me the jumper and I took it like it was one of the most valuable gifts I’d received in a long time. I was finishing doing my hair with the blow dryer that Knarig loved so much. “This is great, a straightener attached to the blow-dryer, what an interesting concept!”
“I’ll leave it here for you,” I said. One of Knarig’s favorite things to do was her hair. She’d have a stylist come in once a week to straighten her hair. That hair stylist also did mine one time.
After I was done getting ready, she looked at me and said, “You look beautiful. And you know, you’ve lost weight!”
***
Hi Mom,
How are you? It’s unfortunate that I am always sleeping when you call! So I was talking to Sharistan about how short my trip felt and I wish it was longer, and she suggested I extend it, so I think I want to extend it by 2 weeks (until late August/early September– I start work September 7). I was told that all I need to do is call the airline and it shouldn’t be a problem. I’d do it here but I think it is easier from the States. I don’t want to leave! If you can’t do it, please let me know and I will try calling from here. Things with Knarig are much better since I talked to you– she is being extra nice and friendly, and even letting me keep my fan on, so that is why I decided to stay. Hope all is well with you and let me know what happens with the flight extension as soon as possible.
***
The night of the party, I took a cab to the Birthright Armenia office. At this point, I knew that there weren’t many cabs on my street, but walking down a couple of blocks to the main strip, there would be a whole bunch of them flying by and people fighting over them, kind of like the Broadway of New York. Varouj was hosting the party. He opened the door and gave me a big hug. He was fortunate enough to have his own apartment, and that night, it had turned into That Place—dark and smoky. But this time around, people had gotten to know each other very well, maybe a little too well. You knew who kissed who, who hated who, and who the clicks were.
“Nayiri jan,” Anto and Karnig came up to me. “We haven’t seen you since the trip to Lake Sevan! How have you been?” Anto and Karnig were two local guys that were friends with Varouj. A few of us decided to boycott the Birthright excursion one Saturday and take our own to Lake Sevan. We bought our own baneer hats (bread with cheese), khorovadz (barbeque), and Kotayk beer, the best kind in Armenia. The three of us, plus Stacey and Artem, interns from Toronto and Lebanon, were smashed in the backseat, with two local guys we just me driving in the front. They were blasting some Armenian hip-hop music.
“What is this?” I asked, being really drawn to it. It was a combination of hip-hop, rhythm and blues and Armenian music.
“Super Sako,” Anto said.
“Sako? You mean he’s Armenian! I totally thought he was black. I love it!”
We spent the rest of the trip blasting Super Sako with Anto and Karnig giving us information on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the land of Karabakh.“Why is everyone trying to take our land? First the Turks, now the Azeris,” I said.
Stacey asked them about the Genocide, the topic that has been ingrained in every Armenian’s brain since childhood—never forget April 24, 1915, the 1.5 million who died; fight for recognition; you are a survivor, you come from survivors; you must love and preserve your country, your language, your culture.
After a few hours and some history lessons, we finally made it to Lake Sevan. Anto and Karnig desperately searched for a place to be away from others. “There are too many people here,” they said, even when there was just a small family a few feet away. Finally, we found a remote enough location. Anto drove into the woods to the beach, eventually making his way onto the sand. Naturally, we got stuck. How many Armenians does it take to move a car out of the sand? Apparently, more than ten. Being unsuccessful in doing so, we decided to eat our khorovadz (BBQ) and drink Kotayk instead.
Locals pushing car out of sand at Lake Sevan
“This Kotayk is so warm,” Stacey said.
“I have a great idea,” Karnig said. “Let’s attach it to the tree in the water. The water will keep it cool.” Karnig and Anto were so friendly and non-stereotypical, like my students.
I was able to talk to them normally, not like the guys I’d have to fight off on the streets or those I had to argue with about women’s equality. “Yes, women are just as smart.”
“No they aren’t,” one guy told me at a party. “Can they solve an equation as fast? Try solving three times 314?” It was some ridiculous number like that.
“That’s absurd,” another male volunteer told him.
“That doesn’t prove anyone’s intelligence,” I continued. “Women are far advanced. They have decent jobs and careers. Many of them are leaders and professionals; some make even more money than men. How would you like it if someone called your mother or your sister stupid?” We all concluded that it was pointless to argue our point any further and gave up on this topic.
At this point, with enough Kotayk in our system, nobody was concerned about the car stuck in the sand, or that we might have to spend the rest of the night in the woods being eaten by little Armenian crickets. I went in the water, along with Anto and Karnig. I wanted to see if it felt any different. It was pretty cold, but my body felt connected to the water somehow, and I couldn’t get enough of diving my head in and out of it. It was getting cold. We were running out of food. Karnig had buried Anto’s body in the sand, and we all stood around him to take a picture. So, what is left to do when Armenians are out of food and drinks? Dance. Anto blasted Armenian music in the car, and we all gathered around in a circle and danced. It felt like I was part of some tribal cult partaking in a dance ritual in the middle of the woods. It was someone’s idea to put cardboard under the car tires, and we slowly made our way out of the sand.
“I know,” I told Anto at the party, “that was such a fun day.”
“We No Speak Americano” played one last time. We all still spoke in Americano with each other, except for the non-Armenian speakers who tried speaking Armenian since it was a requirement to learn basic conversational skills before leaving.
***
I didn’t extend my stay. A couple of days later, I left Armenia to go back to New York. Knarig woke up at five AM to help me get ready and say goodbye. “You know, I am going to miss you,” she stopped me and touched my arm as I was walking around the apartment and packing up. “I got used to you, you crazy girl.”
“Me too,” I smiled, feeling more sad that I was leaving and less happy to be going back home since now, my home had changed and expanded. “Please come visit me in New York, and when I come back to Armenia, I’ll come to see you.”
I sipped on the coffee Knarig made me and reorganized my suitcase, as a combination of Super Sako, Rihanna and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were playing in the background. I tried not to think about how difficult it would be for us to keep in touch considering Knarig didn’t have an email address.
When I was on the phone with my mom, I asked if she wanted to talk to Knarig. I am not sure what my mom was saying on the other end, but I heard Knarig. “You raised a wonderful daughter. She is smart, respectful and caring, and we loved having her here.” I didn’t have to wonder if Knarig meant what she said anymore. I knew her by now, like a daughter starts to know what her mom is thinking.
My last day, I forgot the rent money I was supposed to give Knarig. Being part of Birthright Armenia, the program paid for some of it, but since I had planned to stay for only six weeks instead of eight, I had to pay the rest. “I’ll quickly stop by an ATM and come back here before going to the airport.”
“Problem chi.” (no problem) Knarig didn’t accept some of the money I owed her. Six weeks ago, I wouldn’t have understood why. For some time I thought she might have been doing this for the money, considering that she held paintings for people to sell at Vernissage for a certain price. She also got paid to host volunteers year round. But I understood it now— she may have been quirky, a woman who talks to herself in the kitchen and speaks a million words per minute, but she had become like my own mom who would probably give back the money herself.
When I came home, I missed her, the one egg she would boil for me every morning (even though she would always want to give me more), the conversations we would have at the kitchen table, and even the stupid fights we would get into occasionally. A few weeks later, I received an email from another volunteer, Diana, which read something like this:
“I’ve been told you had Knarig as a host mom. I have her now and she’s driving me crazy. She won’t let me stay out late and she’s always either crying or talking to herself. What should I do?”
My response went a little something like this: “Give it some time and just hang out with her.”
Diana ended up switching homes. I had hoped Diana would stay, but I understood why she left. I knew Knarig probably felt offended, but I didn’t worry much about her. I knew that wherever she was and whatever she was doing, even if it was hot and she was lonely, she was probably laughing.
Just recently, I was washing some of my clothes at my mom’s and asked her to hem one of my pants. As she was looking through my clothes, she found my gray jumper. “This stitch-work is so bad. Who did this? Do you want me to redo and hem this, too?”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s all uneven and sewn in a zigzag way from the inside. It just looks strange.”
“Ohhh, Knarig did that for me,” I remembered and smiled.
Nayiri Panossian is an Armenian-American teacher living in New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University with a major in English and minor in Psychology. She then earned her MA in English Education from New York University. Nayiri is an active member of the Armenian community, teaching Armenian in churches in her community. Although she remains loyal to her roots within the Diaspora, she is also consistent in her efforts to help and strengthen ties with her homeland. She has volunteered in Armenia —with the AGBU Yerevan Summer Intern Program teaching Creative Writing at the American University of Armenia, and with Birthright Armenia and the Armenian Volunteer Corps. Nayiri is currently a high school English teacher in the Bronx. She lives with her son in New Jersey.
Dr. Areg Danagoulian and colleagues at MIT developed an innovative new nuclear disarmament verification process using neutron beams.
WASHINGTON, DC—Professor Areg Danagoulian and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were selected as the 2019 Arms Control Persons of the Year through an online poll that drew participants from over 100 countries. The annual contest is organized by the independent, nongovernmental Arms Control Association.
Prof. Danagoulian and his team were nominated for their work developing an innovative new nuclear disarmament verification process using neutron beams. This process addresses the fact that parties to arms control treaties more often destroy delivery systems than warheads (e.g., the U.S. dismantling B-52 bombers for compliance with START). This leaves large stockpiles of surplus nuclear weapons, increasing risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Instead, the neutron beam test authenticates the warheads’ isotopic composition without revealing it, enabling a verified dismantlement of nuclear warheads.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association remarked, “This innovation paves the way for more effective arms control agreements, inspections and enforcement. Professor Danagoulian’s MIT team has brought the best science to arms control and provided a creative solution that can reduce nuclear threats and enhance security.”
This year, 10 individuals and groups were nominated by the Arms Control Association staff and board of directors. All of the nominees demonstrated extraordinary leadership in advancing effective arms control solutions for the threats posed by mass casualty weapons during the course of 2019.
This contest is a reminder of the diverse and creative ways that dedicated individuals and organizations from around the globe can contribute to meeting the difficult arms control challenges of today and the coming decades. It is a hopeful way to close out 2019 and begin 2020.
Afghanistan’s first all-female demining team completed landmine work in Bamyan province this year, the first of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces to be declared free of landmines.
“The courageous efforts of the Afghan demining team exemplifies women’s empowerment and engagement in peace and security and underscores the importance of humanitarian disarmament,” said Kathy Crandall Robinson, Chief Operations Officer of the Arms Control Association.
Online voting was open from Dec. 12, 2019, until Jan. 8, 2020. Click here for a list of this year’s nominees.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
NEW YORK, NY—Dr. Ohannes Kilicdagi has been appointed the Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian Visiting Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia University for the Spring of 2020. He will be teaching a course on Renaissance, Annihilation and Survival: The History of Armenians in Turkey from the Tanzimat to the Present, which will focus on the Armenian population’s struggle to survive and silent resistance to complete annihilation. This course will examine how the Armenians, in their effort to exist in their homeland, invented a ‘third way’ of being Armenian in Turkey, as well as in the diaspora and in the nation state of Armenia, Soviet or not. In addition, the course will follow the developments in Ottoman-Turkish politics and society as the background of what happened to the Armenians.
This seminar style course (MDES UN3334), will be taught on Thursdays from 4:10 pm – 6:00 pm and is open to auditors as well as matriculating students. Registration for auditors begins January 13 – 17 and classes begin on January 23. The tuition for Auditors is $2,400 and for Lifelong Learners (people aged 65 and over) is $750. Registration for Auditors and Lifelong Learners may be done online.
Dr. Kilicdagi received his Ph.D. from Bogazici University’s Department of History in 2014. He was an Assistant Professor at Istanbul Bilgi University from 2014 – 2017 and then was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies from 2017 – 2019.
The Ordjanian Visiting Professorship program at Columbia is made possible by an endowment established by the late Dr. Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian in 1988. Previous Ordjanian Visiting Professors have included Levon Abrahamian, Vardan Azatyan, Peter Balakian, Melissa Bilal, George Bournoutian, Seta Dadoyan, Roberta Ervine, Rachel Goshgarian, Arman Grigoryan, Robert Hewsen, Armen Marsoobian, Khatchig Mouradian, Ara Sarafian and Khachig Tololyan.
The Ordjanian Visiting Professorship is one of several programs of the Armenian Center at Columbia, the organization that raised the initial funds to establish a Chair of Armenian Studies at Columbia in 1979 and which continues to provide funds for scholarships, library acquisitions, academic publications, lectures, conferences and symposia.
For more information about the Armenian Center at Columbia, please call Karen Bedrosian Richardson at (212) 949-1995. For more information on Dr. Kilicdagi’s upcoming course, please contact him at ohanneskilicdagi@yahoo.com.tr.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
Founded in 2005, the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR) is the only charitable organization whose singular mission is to provide humanitarian assistance to orphaned Armenians around the world. Today, SOAR provides humanitarian relief to orphaned Armenian children and orphaned adults with disabilities around the world. Through our in-country staff and trusted network of global volunteers, SOAR strives to provide this institutionalized population with the same educational and social opportunities as their non-institutionalized counterparts while simultaneously facilitating de-institutionalization, family empowerment, and reunification.
Represented by 144 Chapters, six Junior groups and more than 600 volunteers worldwide, SOAR supports 43 institutions – orphanages, special boarding schools, day centers and orphan summer camps – in Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk, Lebanon and Syria. In addition to SOAR’s institutional-based work, SOAR established the Services to Children in their Own Home (SCOH) Program. The SCOH Program works with residential institutions to de-institutionalize and reunify children with biological families and provides home-based services after reunification to reduce the economic, social, emotional and professional barriers within the family dynamic that may trigger re-institutionalization.
SOAR prides itself on collaboration, creativity, cross-cultural respect, fiscal responsibility and transparency. In 2006, distributions totaled approximately $60,000. Since 2015, SOAR has exceeded $1M distributions annually. SOAR’s efforts not only address the major humanitarian constructs of education, emotional and psychological support, nutrition, health and hygiene, dental and vision care and fundamental human rights, but our academic programs offer curricula on a multitude of topics that stimulate intellectual curiosity, empowerment and enrichment.
For several of us, SOAR is our life’s work, and we are blessed with a selfless cadre of supporters who share our short-term aspirations and long-term vision. We are faced with an enormous responsibility. Our greatest trepidation is not inadequacy or a belief that we are ill-equipped to assist the orphaned children we have embraced as our own, but rather that we have influence and power beyond measure. Our daily routine involves a compulsive desire to assist the abandoned, the sick, the impoverished and the abused. As SOAR’s light shines, we hope that we are unconsciously giving our orphaned population the will to do the same.
Please join us for our 15th anniversary “Crimson and Crystal Celebration” on March 28, 2020 at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, PA. Musical entertainment will be provided by Lucy Yeghiazaryan’s Jazz Quartet and Elie Berberyan and Band. Event proceeds are earmarked for the Armenian Evangelical Boarding School (AEBS) in Ainjar, Lebanon; Kharberd Orphanage in Yerevan, Armenia; and the Our Lady of Armenia Center in Gyumri, Armenia. Click here for tickets and sponsorship details. If you have any questions about the milestone celebration, please contact George S. Yacoubian, Jr., at 610.213.3452 or gyacoubian@soar-us.org.
This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly. If your organization has news it would like to submit to the paper for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
ATP produces more than 50 species of native trees in its nurseries, in close proximity to planting sites.
Armenia Tree Project (ATP) and AUA’s Acopian Center for the Environment recently conducted the first ever “Forest Summit: Global Action and Armenia” conference in Armenia. The Summit gathered national and international experts from organizations including the United Nations Development Program, Ministry of Environment, Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, Woods Hole Research Center, KKL-Jewish National Fund, World Wildlife Fund and the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan opened the Summit with an impassioned speech pledging Armenia to double its forest cover by 2050 and to start by engaging the entire nation in a massive planting effort during 2020. Against this challenge and backdrop, the forestry experts shared recommendations that provide a pathway for the dramatic expansion of Armenia’s forest cover. We convey these recommendations as a way of guiding Armenia’s government and ministries toward a successful implementation of these ambitious plans.
The first recommendation was an admonition against the importation and planting of non-native seedlings. Dr. Anthony Davis, interim dean of forestry at Oregon State University, pointed out the significant risks in his keynote address: “It is important to look at the genetic composition of your tree seedlings. You don’t want to lose the genetic heritage of the tree seeds that have evolved over millennia here in Armenia.”
Dr. Omri Bonneh, forester from KKL-Jewish National Fund (JNF) in Israel, made similar remarks. JNF started its reforesting efforts using Central European seedlings and root stock that were not appropriate for conditions in Israel. JNF changed direction, and their plantings have achieved greater success as a result.
Local scientists from the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Botany and Yerevan State University cautioned about the risks of introducing invasive species, insects, fungus and other plant diseases into the Armenian ecosystem from imported seedlings.
Over its 25 year history, ATP has grown all of its seedlings in its four nurseries within Armenia or in its partner backyard nurseries. ATP has planted only native trees—trees grown near the locations where they will be transplanted—to help ensure the highest rate of survival and success avoiding disruption to the local ecology.
The second recommendation is to plant mixed species forests in order to allow a more healthy forest to evolve. Dr. Bonneh stated “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” by planting large (monoculture) pine forests, again noting mistakes made by foresters in Israel and the Soviet Union when large pine plantations were established.
Pests and disease can wipe out single species plantings as we have witnessed in forests planted in Armenia during the Soviet years. A single species forest is less resilient and more susceptible to disasters like wildfires. Finally, mixed species forests are better able to soak up carbon from the atmosphere and so will provide a bigger climate benefit, thereby helping Armenia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The final recommendation is to consider alternative ways of reforesting that don’t solely rely upon container plantings. Again, based upon our extensive history of growing and planting in Armenia, consider the following approaches:
—Grow native seedlings in the same elevation and climate zone as the planting areas.
—Plant bare root seedlings during the spring and fall planting seasons. This approach allows for easier growth and transportation and, hence, much larger scale than the use of container trees.
—Explore pilot projects to test new technologies such as planting with drones.
—Plant seeds such as acorns as an adjunct to seedlings.
We are inspired by the goal to engage Armenia’s citizens in the reforestation efforts and to double Armenia’s forest cover by 2050. ATP stands ready to be a strategic partner with Armenia’s ministries to accomplish these efforts drawing upon our 25 years growing and planting throughout Armenia.
Author information
Jason Sohigian
Jason Sohigian is the deputy director of Armenia Tree Project. He has a master’s in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard. His undergraduate degree is from the Environment, Technology, and Society Program at Clark University with a concentration in Physics. From 1999 to 2004, Jason was editor of the Armenian Weekly.
NEW YORK, NY–A book published by the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) was highly recommended by Turkish novelist Elif Shafak in an interview appearing in the December 26, 2019, issue of the New York Times Book Review.
Asked to name her “favorite book no one else has heard of,” Shafak cited In the Ruins by Zabel Yessayan, an account of the 1909 massacres of Armenians in Adana.
“The Armenian feminist, novelist and intellectual Zabel Yessayan was a writer with a brilliant mind and a woman far ahead of her time,” Shafak said in the interview. “In the Ruins is a heart-rending cry, an important chronicle,” she added. “A very important read.”
An award-winning British-Turkish author, Shafak writes in both Turkish and English. Her most recent novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World was a finalist for the 2019 Booker Prize. Her earlier works include the bestselling novels The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love and Three Daughters of Eve.
Elif Shafak
“Read women writers, women journalists, women poets, women academics,” Shafak advised in the New York Times interview. “And when I say women, I mean women of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.”
Zabel Yessayan was a prominent Armenian writer, intellectual, and social activist. Born in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1878, she received her early education at the Holy Cross Armenian School and became one of the first Ottoman women to study abroad when she enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris. She began publishing articles and books and became prominent in French and Armenian intellectual circles.
In 1909 the Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul appointed her to head a delegation to the Adana province of Turkey to survey the damage caused by the 1909 massacres of the Armenians there and to arrange relief efforts. Upon her return to Istanbul, Yessayan published a series of articles about her experiences, and these were later collected into a book titled In the Ruins.
Zabel Yessayan
In 1915 Yessayan became the only woman on the list of Armenian intellectuals to be arrested on April 24, but she managed to elude her captors and escape to Bulgaria. During and after World War I she traveled widely in Europe, the Caucasus and the Middle East, using her contacts in the Armenian and foreign press to publish information, including eyewitness accounts, about the Armenian Genocide.
Yessayan moved in 1929 to Soviet Armenia, where she taught literature at Yerevan State University and continued writing and publishing. In the 1930s she became a victim of Joseph Stalin’s repression of intellectuals; she was arrested and died in an unknown prison, probably in 1943.
AIWA has had three of Yessayan’s books translated into English and published as part of its Treasury of Armenian Women’s Literature series. In addition to In the Ruins, these are The Gardens of Silihdar (a novel/memoir of Yessayan’s early life) and My Soul in Exile (a novella about the role of the artist in society). Soon to be released by AIWA Press is the latest book in the series, the groundbreaking Armenian feminist novel Mayda, by Srpuhi Dussap, originally published in 1883.
All AIWA books are available for purchase through the organization’s website, through Amazon books and retailers specializing in Armenia-related material.
This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly. If your organization has news it would like to submit to the paper for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
From the Monastery of Antelias of the Great House of Cilicia, we greet with pontifical blessing, warm Christian love and intense patriotism the World General Assembly, the Religious and Lay Councils of the Central Executive Council, the Prelates, the ecclesiastical class, the community leaders and our beloved people.
With deep satisfaction, we note that our decision to highlight a given feature or value intimately linked to our national life continues to have strong repercussions. As you know, we had proclaimed 2019 the “Year of the Armenian Press.” Indeed, not only in the Diaspora but across our national life, the press became the object of analysis and concern of our compatriots and, particularly, media outlets, the ecclesiastical class, journalists, intellectuals, as well as national, cultural and educational organizations. In this regard, the pan-Armenian conference organized at the monastery of Antelias by the initiative of the Holy See, was especially important.
* * *
Dear Armenian people,
When we were thinking about the year 2020, on a contemporary issue to highlight for our collective reflection and analysis, our thoughts went to Armenians with special needs. According to information at our disposal, the number of fellow countrymen with special needs is beginning to grow noticeably, as a consequence of economic, social and medical factors as well as other causes. We therefore believe it is imperative to declare 2020
THE YEAR OF ARMENIANS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
We call persons with special needs those who are congenitally handicapped with physical, intellectual or emotional inabilities, those with total or partial incapacity, who are either born that way or have become so as a result of ulterior incidents. According to medical data, there are currently more than 20 types of incapacity or handicap, visible or not, extreme or otherwise. They have different roots, causes and treatment. Some are curable, some are incurable. Not so long ago, these people were considered deficient or invalid. Today, however, the definitions and terms of the past have mostly fallen into disuse and, instead, more moderate and respectful names are being used. For example, instead of using “disabled” we now use “differently abled.”
The mentality of society and its treatment of persons with special needs has changed too. From the United Nations to religions, governments and organizations, specialized centers have been founded, funds have been established, and different plans have been developed, as well as different resources have been put to use, to facilitate their way of life. Thus, new, respectful ways and expressions have been adopted to interact with them. In the streets, buildings, and public spaces, special arrangements have been made. From airports to other transportation hubs, appropriate remedies have been implemented. They have priority of service and place in collective gatherings. They are beginning to be included in local or international committees, events, plans or projects. And this long list of practical steps in that direction can go on and on.
It is indispensable to add that modern society emphasizes the principle of equality. In other words, persons with special needs must have equal rights and obligations in all spheres of life and at all levels of society. A minimal oversight of their civil rights is deemed an instance of discrimination and injustice, and in some countries it is even considered a behavior addressed by criminal law. In 1992, the United Nations proclaimed December 3 the Day of Persons with Disabilities. At the same time, the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” was adopted to emphasize the indispensability of defending their rights and paying careful attention to them. The 1983-93 period had also been declared the UN Decade of Disabled Persons. Indeed, there are several and different legal and practical measures adopted by the international community.
Naturally, the presence of persons with physical, psychological and behavioral disabilities in society is not new. In the Old Testament we even encounter important characters with such physical traits. Thus, the prophet Moses had a stammer and Samson was blind. Closer to our times, we may mention U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose two legs were paralyzed; celebrated writer Agatha Christie, who had a weak memory; famous composer Beethoven, who was deaf; renowned painter Van Gogh, who had psychological problems, and the acclaimed physicist Albert Einstein, who suffered from emotional disturbances. These and many other persons, who were born with mental or emotional problems or developed them later, have become great leaders and have attained unique achievements in many spheres. Also today there are people in similar conditions who are active in the life of their own respective nations.
In present times, as a consequence of terror attacks, wars and different incidents, the number of persons with special needs has begun to multiply. According to the latest statistics, their number is around 600 million. If in the past, for different reasons, they were kept away from society or the persons themselves hid their physical inabilities, these restrictions have been suppressed today and the mentality has changed. Modern society considers them an inseparable part of it, with equal obligations and rights.
What does the Bible say?
Naturally, as Christians, to find the just direction regarding situations and concerns in our life, we must turn to the Bible, the source of divine revelation and the foundation of our Christian faith.
All the books that compose the Bible, from the Genesis to the Book of Revelations, are full of similar expressions and definitions, events and figures, which in different manners and with varying emphasis prove not only the presence of persons with physical or mental inabilities in society, but also about the careful treatment they received from the prophets in the Old Testament as well as from the Son of God and the Apostles in the New Testament. Indeed, a reference in passing in the Bible shows clearly the teaching of the Christian religion in this regard. We therefore do not consider it necessary to discuss this in detail. We want, however, to stress the following points with special emphasis:
The Bible does not consider the physical incapacity a divine punishment, but a trait of earthly life. God, as Heavenly Father, treats persons exposed to that situation with special love.
The Bible emphasizes that man is imperfect: he carries Adam’s sin. The Son of God became man to liberate man from the domination of sin and evil.
The flaws of man are considered an opportunity and a challenge to strengthen man’s faith and hope in God.
The healing of physical and other defects was also part of the salvation of Christ. Indeed, many are the instances, in which invalid persons, blind men, handicapped people or those who walked with a limp, were deaf or mute, were cured by Christ when they approached Him, moved by their faith.
The apostles of Christ had the same approach. The testimony of Paul the Apostle, who persecuted Christ and lost his vision, is significant in this sense. The same approach had the Church in the course of centuries. The theology and the ethics of the Christian faith stress that the physical, spiritual and intellectual dimensions make up the totality of the person. It is in this context that we should understand the concept of the “glorious body” (1 Corinthians 15.35-58). Therefore, helping persons with physical, mental or emotional flaws is one of the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith. The awareness of this can be found in the writings and teachings of the fathers of the Church for centuries. The patrological literature is full of several such examples.
Also today, the Christian world in general and the Church in particular, following the biblical teachings and the testimonies and exhortations of the fathers of the Church, turn their attention to the persons who need care and develop different plans. The World Council of Churches, as well as regional ecumenical councils and organizations, have given important attention to them in their plans and initiatives, as well as in articles of their bylaws, in order to involve them in the ecumenical movement.
THE PRESENCE OF ARMENIANS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN ARMENIAN LIFE
As is the case with any nation or society, naturally there have been and there are persons with special needs within the Armenian life.
According to information available to us, the number of people considered to have disabilities is around 189,400, divided into different groups according to their physical, mental or emotional traits and age. In 2010, the Armenian government ratified the UN declaration in support of the rights of people with special needs. Their rights are defended by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, local agencies and a special committee in the National Assembly, as well as a number of organizations devoted to the defense of human rights.
In the Lebanese Armenian community, immediately after the Genocide we have had special centers to attend to the needs of people who were mute, blind, deaf or had other disabilities, established by the Federation of Philo-Armenian Swiss Committees. Those centers stopped operating approximately three decades ago, on the one hand because the number of people with such traits dropped and, on the other, because the maintenance of specialized centers has become too taxing. Nevertheless, the Zvartnots Center has been operating in Bourdj Hammoud for 33 years, under the auspices of the union of Armenian social servers. Approximately 35 children and teenagers participate in special courses and exercises at the center.
Likewise, for the past twenty years, the Agounk Center for Physical and Mental Khankaroumner has been operating in Tehran.However, as we said, in Armenian life everywhere, we have persons of every age and condition who have special needs. We therefore want to list the following reminders and recommendations:
At the beginning of our proclamation, we noted that we should not approach people who need special care and attention with a discriminatory spirit or ignoring them, but as persons with equal rights and obligations. They have to feel that their difficult conditions cannot become a cause for them to be ignored or removed from our collective life, and we have to be aware of that.
Establishing special centers for similar conditions and keeping them away from society is now avoided everywhere. They live with their families, receiving medical attention when need be. We should adopt the same approach.
We have to carry out consistent work and create indispensable means to include them as a permanent and active presence in our community life. We have to inspire their trust with our approach, showing them that they do not have to be marginalized from our life. On the contrary, they belong in the mainstream and are an integral part of our community life.
As we have pointed out, modern society has created resources to make the life and work of people with special needs easier. We have to adopt the same approach in different spheres of our life and, particularly, in the activity of the centers and structures of our collective and community life, doing the utmost to facilitate their daily life.
Modern knowledge endows ample opportunities to persons in such difficult situation. Therefore, we have to make our utmost effort to create the means for specialized attention and cure for the cases in which permanent and temporary care are needed.
It is imperative to include them in our organizations, structures and committees, showing them respect and confidence in them and giving them responsibilities. They are in charge of the highest offices in several countries. What counts are the emotional and intellectual virtues and abilities and the will to serve the nation.
We must create the specialized and material means for children and teenagers with congenital and curable impairments for their definitive healing.
Our nation, with its church, state and organizations, is obligated to assist materially the persons who are prevented by their condition from working and, hence, earning an income.
Finally, it is unbecoming for our nation to be indifferent towards a child who has difficulties for hearing, speaking, learning or walking or faces similar problems. It is unbecoming for our nation to see helpless people in the streets, with physical impairments, and, as in the story from the Gospels, be indifferent. We have to assist by all possible means all the members of our nation who suffer from such condition. This is the sacred duty of every Armenian and the entire Armenian nation.
Now, what is the role of our church? The approach of Christ towards persons who suffer from physical, social and emotional problems must be the guide for its service. The example of Nerses the Great, one of our patriarchs of the 4th century, is emblematic in our church’s life, with his dedication and care towards those in need. Today our church, through its figures and the development of social and humanitarian plans, is called to enter into our family and community life and, in accordance with its setting and conditions, serve the Armenians in need.
What is the role of the state of Armenia? Defending the rights of these Armenians is doubtlessly fundamental. But first, the state must assist them in all possible specialized ways and afford them the social and material means, at the same time including them in the state structures, naturally always affording them specialized and practical advantages.
What is the role of our organizations? The structures that operate within our community are not self-sufficient. We expect, however, that they do their utmost to help our compatriots who are in such circumstances.
Finally, what is the role of structures in the Armenian life that provide humanitarian, social and healthcare services or, rather, those structures that are devoted to serving? They assist the people with special needs with the highest devotion, to their credit. The Zvartnots Center is a living example. We are certain that they will continue their service with renewed faith and dedication.
By declaring the Year of the Armenians with Special Needs, with patriarchal love and blessing, we urge:
Our nation, to remember in our prayers, thoughts and works all our fellow Armenians in such difficult circumstances, and to always remember them: in Armenia, in Artsakh and in the Diaspora, throughout the world, and to deepen our love and care, our attention and our devotion for them, showing in practice that they are an integral and inseparable part of our national life.
Our religious, state, community, beneficent organizations to do their utmost to serve these Armenians in specialized, social or material ways as we have a collective obligation towards them.
The Prelates of all our dioceses and our national organizations to do all within their possibilities, in the light of the recommendations that stem from our proclamation, to provide practical assistance to our compatriots with special needs.
To our wealthy fellow Armenians, to allocate part of their material resources to our compatriots in difficulties, by establishing special funds or helping through state, church or community structures.
Let us remember the parable of the Good Samaritan told by Christ (Luke 10.25-37). Let us not remain indifferent towards our compatriots who are confined by physical inability, but turn to the Good Samaritan. Rest assured that our nation will become greater, our church will shine more, our homeland will bloom even more, when then number of Good Samaritans within our nation grows. Blessed are our compatriots whose name is inscribed in the history of our church and our nation as Good Samaritans.
We want to close our Patriarchal Proclamation with the simple yet deeply meaningful prayer of the Armenian Church:
“Dispel the pain and heal the sickness of thy people, Lord our God, and grant to all perfect health by the sign of thine all-conquering cross through which thou removed the weakness of mankind and condemned the enemy of our life and salvation. Thou art our life and salvation, beneficent and all merciful God, who alone can forgive us our sins and remove diseases and sickness from us, to whom are known our needs and necessities. Bestower of gifts, grant thy bounteous mercy to thy creatures according to their individual needs, through whom thy Holy Trinity is always glorified and praised, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.”
With warm patriarchal love,
Prayerfully
Aram I, Catholicos The Great House of Cilicia
January 1, 2020 Antelias, Lebanon
Author information
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I
Born in 1947, in Beirut, Lebanon, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, studied at the Armenian Theological Seminary, Antelias, Lebanon and the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, Geneva, Switzerland. He received his M.Div. from the Near East School of Theology, his S.T.M. jointly from the American University of Beirut and Near East School of Theology, and his PhD from Fordham University in New York. He also holds several honorary degrees. His major areas of specialization are philosophy, systematic theology, and Near Eastern church history. Catholicos Aram I was ordained as a celibate priest in 1968 and obtained the title of Vartabed (Doctor of the Armenian Church) in 1970. In 1979, after serving for one year as Locum Tenens, he was elected Primate of the Armenian Orthodox Community in Lebanon; the next year he received episcopal ordination. In June 1995, His Holiness was elected Catholicos (the Head of the Church) by the Electoral Assembly of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia.
The ANCA has launched an online action campaign – anca.org/baku – urging Congressional leaders to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Baku pogroms and condemn Azerbaijan’s ongoing anti-Armenian attacks.
WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the U.S. Senate and House are being encouraged to condemn ongoing Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) as the world commemorates the 30th anniversary of fatal government-incited anti-Armenian attacks in Baku, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“After the bloody Baku, Sumgait, Maragha and Kirovabad pogroms and then Azerbaijan’s failed all-out war against Artsakh – and amid Baku’s ongoing incitement of anti-Armenian hatred, escalating cross-border attacks and open desecration of Armenian holy sites – there can be no discussion of returning to the past,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “There is no going back, only forward, for the free, secure and prosperous Artsakh Republic.”
The ANCA has launched an online Congressional outreach campaign on its March to Justice advocacy platform.
This year marks 30th anniversary of the Baku pogroms, one of the more violent anti-Armenian massacres orchestrated by Azerbaijan during the early years of Artsakh’s ultimately successful democratic movement for independence. Over the course of seven days, Azerbaijani mobs killed dozens and forced hundreds of thousands among the centuries-old Armenian population in Azerbaijan to find safe haven in Armenia and countries around the world. Other similarly violent pogroms took place in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Maragha.
The Sumgait and Baku Pogroms marked the start of three decades of relentless anti-Armenian incitement by the Azerbaijani government, including during Baku’s failed war against Artsakh.
The ANCA’s fact sheet about the Sumgait, Kirovabad, Maragha and Baku pogroms along with a review of common-sense proposals to support Nagorno Karabakh’s freedom and self-determination.
Author information
ANCA
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. To learn more, visit www.anca.org.
FAIRLAWN, NJ—The 23rd World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT), which was held in Armenia in October of 2019, attracted the attention of New Jersey Armenians on Friday evening during a roundtable discussion.
Organized by the New Jersey chapters of the Armenian Cultural Association of America (ACAA), the Northeastern USA chapter of the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA) and the St. Leon Armenian Church, the discussion, which welcomed close to 100 guests, centered around the future of technology in Armenia.
Former Weekly editor Antranig Kasbarian welcomed the audience and introduced moderator Armen Morian—a lawyer with a private practice in New York. Morian was also senior advisor of the 23rd WCIT, in which he authored the agenda and led the effort to identify and recruit speakers.
Panelist Emma Arakelyan is a public speaker and a technology innovation accelerator and IP protection services CEO at her two companies. She has been involved in tech and educational programs in Armenia since 2015.
The next speaker was Stephan Haig Tchorbajian, a real estate developer and tech entrepreneur from New York. His latest venture is in the IT sector in Armenia. Tchorbajian is also the vice president of the northeastern section of the AESA.
Karen Tonoyan, a patent attorney focusing on computer electronics and software technologies of the Armenian Bar Association, followed Tchorbajian’s presentation focusing on the achievements of the WCIT 2019 conference from Armenia’s perspective.
The final panelist was Harout Topsacalian with an international consulting career that took him to Armenia and Georgia as part of USAID. In the last two years, Topsacalian has re-engaged with Armenia’s tech sector and has invested in several startups.
A Q&A session closed the roundtable that lasted close to two and a half hours.
There was also a short video highlighting WCIT’s opening ceremony.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
Karine Voskanyan’s great grandfather Simon Der-Danielian and her great-grandmother
“April 24,1915, what once bore Western Armenia has been wiped off the map,and from the blood of one and a half million Armenians the flowers once again were lit with a furious flame and the sunset blazed in a menacing glow.” – Gourgen Mahari
In the town of Igdir (Surmalu), they were born. There were houses with flat roofs for hot summer nights to sleep under the starry sky. Lush gardens and orchards were enveloping the houses, and the aroma of freshly baked bread from the opened windows were inviting for any stranger to come in. This was their world, the world of their existence and the world of their dreams. Yes, that’s how it was in those days, unforgettable and never vanishing from the memory of that generation, the generation of my grandma Amalia. She was nine, and like any nine year old, she had wonderful dreams of life and a future with her two sisters Erush and Dzunik and a brother Mamikon. Her father Simon Der-Danielian was the minister of the church and the respected leader of the community.
Life was an endless fairy tale for her and her siblings, until the night that came with the gallops of the three saddlers entering the yard. The noise will attract my grandma’s attention, and she would peek out of the window to see the visitors. To her amusement she would recognize the white horse saddler. This wasn’t his first visit; she recognized that voice and the face. That dominant voice that was talking to her father had sadness and concern, but never fear. He was the living legend of my nation and the fear of the Ottomans—General Andranik Ozanian. The nine-year-old will see her father’s saddened face and feel uneasy. She would follow with her glance the white horse disappear in the darkness of night, and long before the dawn her father would gather the community for the exclusive announcement: All Armenian families had to leave their native town Igdir within hours. There wasn’t time left for the simple question “why?” They had to hurry. Women and children had to be accompanied by several men. They had a long journey to the cold and flooding river Araks (Araz). They had to cross it.
Early morning hours were for all arrangements and preparations. They had to do it without causing any suspicions. It was like an electric wire running through the community. They were getting ready to abandon their beloved native town full of joy, happiness and dreams.
There’ll be no more mando tunes, There’ll be no more landau sounds, Hey, hey, No, there won’t.
Gourgen Mahari
There won’t be tears. They would be frozen. There won’t be words either, but there will be hands stretched up to the sky and lips murmuring a prayer, alive certainly, but dead to the world.
The night will bring not only darkness and cold, but also fear and uncertainty. Women were told to pack light, traveling only with the essentials. At nine years old, my grandma would have her little handmade doll and a photo of her parents wrapped in the handkerchief, while she would wander in her house for the last time, not knowing that she would never have another chance to see it again. Her older sister Erush would run in to grab the family Bible; with tears in their eyes, they would close the door leaving their childhood inside.
It would be a long moonlit walk. The children would ask the innocent question, “Where are we going?” They were told they would be visiting relatives and staying there for a while.
But why was everyone in tears? She would not see her father a lot. He would be heading the caravan to arrange the crossing. The grassy, muddy bank of the river would hide them, while the men would make the rafts and attach them to each other with ropes. The cold, troubled waters of the mother river will be unwelcoming. No one except the brave would dare to get into it. My grandma knew that her father would be the one, not because of him being the minister, but because of him being an excellent swimmer.
He would lead the rafts and boats across the river by tying a rope around his waist and swimming across. My grandma would see him just for a couple of minutes to hear his controlled voice saying, “God is with us. Everything will be fine.” Then with the last Lord’s Prayer he would dive into the water. The current would be very strong. It would shake, drift and toss them from side to side, threatening to sweep them off. My grandma will lose her doll which would be washed away. Later, she would see another doll floating away; it wouldn’t be a doll but… a baby with a frozen smile.
She would recall the screams, cries and curses.Everything would be given to that life and death struggle, where you couldn’t recognize the people. It would be like the images from the underworld, where everyone was losing their minds. My grandma would look for her father, just to see him struggling against the current and a couple of times disappearing under the water, but the rope would remind everyone that he was still pulling it. The nightmare would seem endless, and she would spot him finally getting on the steady ground, exhausted and breathless. Other men help him tie a rope around the tree and pull the rafts to the bank. There will be another wave of grief, as many of them sob for their loved ones, resting in peace at the bottom of the river. With the last prayer for their souls, the exhausted caravan will move to Echmiadzin, the Mother Cathedral of all Armenians. That would be the last time my grandma and her siblings ever see their father. He would return to get the rest of the community to safety. He would enter the river, never to be seen again.
To this day I am the fourth generation of my family looking for any information about my great-grandfather Simon Der-Danielian from Igdir (Surmalu). If it weren’t for him and all other brave men and women, I and many generations wouldn’t be here today.
Karine Voskanyan at two years old with her grandmother Amalia in Armenia, 1965
Author information
Karine Voskanyan
Karine was born in Yerevan and came to the US 22 years ago. She's been a teacher, a journalist and an interpreter. She is the author of two published poems: “Squares” and “Shadows.”
WATERTOWN, Mass.—On January 9, 2020, the HamazkayinArmenian Educational and Cultural Society of Boston hosted a movie screening at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center. Over 35 community members gathered and watched the movie Tevanik directed by Jivan Avetisyan. Hamazkayin Boston Executive member Vazrik Chiloyan welcomed the guests and explained that the movie features three parallel segments portraying episodes taking place during one day in a village in Artsakh in 1991 from the perspective of three Armenians — Aram, Astghik and Tevanik.
“Tevanik” premiered at the Moscow Cinema in Yerevan in May of 2014 and in Artsakh the following month, and since then has been shown in various cities around the world. It has won a considerable number of awards, including: Best Screenplay at the Los Angeles Arpa International Film Festival in November 2014; Best Feature Prize in the Armenian Panorama Competition at the Golden Apricot Film Festival in July 2014; Audience Favorite Award at the Silk Road International Film Festival in Xi’an, China in 2014; and Most Original Work in the International Feature Films Competition of the Overlook 2014 Film Festival in Rome. It was also shown at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.
Proceeds from the first film, helped Avetisyan create his next film called “The Last Inhabitant.” The movie tells a story about two inhabitants who are faced with opposite sides of an inter-ethnic conflict. “The Last Inhabitant” won Best Feature at the Scandinavian International Film Festival in late October, where actor Aleksandr Khachatryan also won the Best Actor award. The film also received an honorable mention at the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto and was considered for “Best Foreign Language Film” by the 74th Golden Globe Awards. In December of 2018, HBO announced that it will make the film available to its subscribers in Eastern Europe, thus showcasing Artsakh’s Khachmach village of Askeran, where the film’s action takes place, to a wide audience.
“The Last Inhabitant” is set to be screened at the ACEC on February 6th, 2020 at 7:30PM. Tickets to the event are $10 and can be purchased at the door or online.
In April of 2020, as the community will gather to commemorate the Fourth Anniversary of the Four Day War in Artsakh, the chapter will screen “Gates to Heaven. This film centers around Robert Stenvall, a European journalist, who returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the war, which resumed after a shaky 22-year-ceasefire. During his time in Artsakh, Stenvall meets Sophia Martirosyan a young Opera singer and daughter of the missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan whom Robert left behind in captivity in the village during the fall of Talish in 1992. The movie was filmed in Artsakh, Armenia and Lithuania. Co-producing countries include Armenia, Lithuania, Germany, France, U.S., Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Italy.
The Hamazkayin Boston Chapter has invited Director Jivan Avetisyan to be present at the final movie screening to give the audience an opportunity to engage in a Q&A regarding all three films and upcoming plans on other movies. Details of the event will be released soon. The chapter has decided that proceeds from the three events will be donated the director’s upcoming film.
Author information
Verginie Touloumian
Verginie Touloumian is the Executive Director of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), where she manages its activities in 27 countries, coordinates its programs and oversees its strategic operations. Touloumian holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Woodbury University and Master's Degree in Management and Leadership from Pepperdine University. During her time at Pepperdine, she participated in a study abroad program at the University of Oxford and was assigned a Management Consultant at LA Mission's Anne Douglas Center. Verginie is an alumnus of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), where she has served on leadership positions on the local and central level. She is currently the Vice Chairperson of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society - Boston Chapter.
The ANCA’s second annual Rising Leaders: Career Development and Civic Education program is set for March 22nd to 24th in Washington, DC. Interested university students can apply by visiting anca.org/risingleaders
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is excited to host the second annual Rising Leaders: Career Development and Civic Education – a three-day program in Washington, DC from March 22nd to 24th devoted to empowering youth, exploring policy, politics and media careers, and experiencing life in the nation’s capital.
The ANCA has once again teamed up with the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Eastern and Western U.S. and the Georgetown University Armenian Students Association (Georgetown ASA) in hosting this unique student-focused event.
To register, students can visit anca.org/RisingLeaders and choose from two participation options – one that offers housing for the 3-day program ($100) and the other which includes program fees alone ($25). Students are responsible for travel to and from Washington, DC. Financial aid will be provided based on need and availability.
ANCA supporters, businesses and organizations interested in subsidizing student participation and overall program components will be spotlighted on the ANCA website. To donate, visit: anca.org/risingleaders/support
“Building on a great inaugural experience last year, we are gearing up ‘ANCA Rising Leaders 2020’ to offer even better opportunities for university students to explore careers in Washington while engaging with civic leaders on the issues that we care about as a community,” said ANCA Program Director Sipan Ohannesian, who is leading the effort. “The AYF Eastern and Western U.S. and the Georgetown ASA have been phenomenal program partners and we are proud to work with them again to offer a fun, innovative, and educational program in our nation’s capital.”
The ANCA Rising Leaders program provides a platform for our members to put forth their knowledge and experiences in the AYF in an applicable environment,” said AYF Eastern Region Chair Knar Charchaflian. “It’s taking the Hai Tahd lectures we listen to and allowing the members to spark their activism in a fully hands-on approach.”
“The Armenian Youth Federation Western United States (AYF-WUS) is excited to team up with the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) for the second year in organizing the career development and civic engagement seminar for the young leaders in our communities,” said AYF Western U.S. Central Executive member Hakop Hajibekyan. “We look forward to working with the ANCA to further expand the program and to advance the Armenian Cause by investing in our youth with programs such as the ANCA Rising Leaders seminar.”
On a more personal note, Hajibekyan explained, “My experience as a Rising Leader participant in 2019 led me to become one of three ANCA Leo Sarkisian Summer interns, representing the Western United States last summer. Because of this experience, I was able to return to DC in October to help lobbying efforts for the passage of H. Res. 296 in the US House of Representatives.”
Over 30 students from top universities and high schools across the U.S. traveled to the nation’s capital to take part in the ANCA’s inaugural Rising Leaders Program in 2019, which was made possible, in large part, through a generous contribution by the Ararat Foundation Shahinian Educational Fund.
The 2020 program will begin Sunday, March 22nd with a full day of interactive presentations by the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program Advisory Committee (CGPAC) focusing on career search fundamentals from resume preparation and networking 101 to an overview of the Washington, DC internship and job market. Monday, March 23rd will feature meetings with policy, politics and media professionals, including current and former federal agency and Congressional staff, to discuss careers in the nation’s capital. Those will be followed by an extended session with ANCA team members on advancing community priorities on the federal, state and local level. The seminar will be capped off with a full day of Capitol Hill discussions with Members of Congress and staff on strengthening U.S.-Armenia ties, supporting Artsakh freedom and securing justice for the Armenian Genocide. Throughout the program ample opportunities will be provided to explore Washington, DC and make new friends.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues. To learn more, visit www.anca.org.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA has proudly announced that Ann R. Karagozian, distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was appointed as their inaugural director. The Promise Armenian Institute is a groundbreaking entity within the UCLA International Institute and is a hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian Studies. The Institute coordinates new and ongoing research and public impact programs across UCLA and beyond.
In this role, Professor Karagozian will be responsible for administering and setting the overall direction, in addition to overseeing and helping to coordinate the many anticipated activities of the Institute, including new and ongoing teaching, research and public impact programs. The Promise Armenian Institute will also be adding a new Armenian Studies Center, and Professor Karagozian will be involved in the selection of its first director.
“We are thrilled to have Professor Karagozian lead The Promise Armenian Institute and join our team at the UCLA International Institute,” said Cindy Fan, Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement.
“Professor Karagozian’s leadership and knowledge along with her passion to promote Armenian studies within the local and global communities is superb, and we are looking forward to her guidance and council as we continue to grow,” said Dr. Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH, Chief, Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Director, Melvin & Bren Simon Digestive Diseases Center, Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Professor Karagozian is the immediate past Interim Vice Chancellor for Research for the UCLA Campus. She is also a Past Chair of the UCLA Academic Senate (2010-11). She serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Armenia (AUA), which is affiliated with the University of California, and chairs the AUA Board’s Educational Policy Committee. She also has served on Boards for Haigazian University (Beirut, Lebanon), the Armenian Missionary Association of America, and the United Armenian Congregational Church (Los Angeles).
Professor Karagozian currently heads UCLA’s Energy and Propulsion Research Laboratory and is the director of the joint UCLA-Air Force Research Laboratory Collaborative Center for Aerospace Sciences. She has been a faculty member in the MAE Department at UCLA since 1982, having received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in that year. Ann’s research interests lie in fluid mechanics and combustion, with applications to improved engine efficiency, reduced emissions, alternative fuels, and advanced rocket and air breathing propulsion systems.
Among her many affiliations, Professor Karagozian is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She twice received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service from the U.S Air Force (2001, 2010), and is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Beta Kappa, the Combustion Institute, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Society of Women Engineers. She is a Past Chair and Division Councilor of the American Physical Society/Division of Fluid Dynamics.
About The Promise Armenian Institute
The Promise Armenian Institute is a groundbreaking new entity within the UCLA International Institute. Made possible with a $20 million gift from the estate of Kirk Kerkorian, the largest gift that the International Institute has received, The Promise Armenian Institute positions UCLA to significantly build upon its more than 50 years of history of Armenian Studies, which currently includes two endowed faculty chairs. This new institute will be the hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian Studies, and for coordinating new and ongoing research and public impact programs across UCLA, from social sciences to health sciences, from humanities to music, the arts, to engineering, and from public policy to management. The Promise Armenian Institute’s size, scope, and interdisciplinary approach make it the first of its kind in the world.
This article is a press release submitted to the Armenian Weekly. If your organization has news it would like to submit to the paper for consideration, please email us at editor@armenianweekly.com.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
The economic crisis and political instability in Lebanon have taken an evident toll on the Lebanese-Armenian community.
The Central Executive Board has been closely monitoring the circumstances. In November of 2019, the Central Executive Board sent 5,000 USD in order to help the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon to ensure the provided services remain uninterrupted.
However, the situation has gotten progressively worse, and the number of Armenians asking for support from the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon has exponentially increased. Therefore, the Central Executive Board during its first Plenary Meeting (Jan. 3 to 7, 2020) sent an additional 10,000 USD and decided to initiate a campaign to collect donations as part of an Emergency Appeal for Lebanon.
Hot Meal Program
Through this project, entities and donors can sponsor the Hot Meal Program which is distributed to 150 community members in need. Although, this program has been operating for many years (offered twice a week), under these financial circumstances, the entity had to reduce it to only one day per week. The Central Executive Board has deemed this service a priority, and it has reinstated the Hot Meal Program to twice a week. With funding, the entity will continue to serve meals twice a week.
Donation: 500 USD/per day for 150 people ($1,000 for both days per week)
Care Support
Through this project, imminent aid such as medication, one-month worth of groceries, and other basic needs will be provided to individuals (who already rely on the entity for their medication and nutrition) in order to help with the well-being of all community members.
Donation: 250 USD
Hope Package
Through this project, families in need will receive a box of groceries with a supply of food that can last them a month.
Donation: 150 USD
As usual, any donation, regardless of how large it may be, can greatly contribute to the cause. General donations will be distributed by the Central Executive Board and the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon, wherever it is most needed.
It is our responsibility to support the Armenian community of Lebanon which has been a pillar in our diaspora with its schools, cultural centers and organizations, and has continued to participate in homeland and diaspora initiatives.
We call on the community to join our efforts for this emergency appeal and help us extend our healing hands to our compatriots to help bring a smile to the children, teenagers and the elderly.
Donations can be made to your local ARS entity or online.
Author information
Armenian Relief Society International Inc.
Armenian Relief Society, Inc. (ARS) is an independent, non-governmental and non-sectarian organization which serves the humanitarian needs of the Armenian people and seeks to preserve the cultural identity of the Armenian nation. It mobilizes communities to advance the goals of all sectors of humanity. For well over a century, it has pioneered solutions to address the challenges that impact our society.
BELMONT, Mass.—The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will host a panel discussion entitled “The Armenian-American Press in Perspective: Its Purposes, Challenges, and Future Prospects,” on Thursday, February 13, 2020, at 7:30 p.m., in Batmasian Hall on the third floor of the new NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building.
This program is presented by the NAASR/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues and is co-sponsored by the AGBU Young Professionals of Boston and the AYF Greater Boston “Nejdeh” Chapter. It is free and open to the public. A reception will take place after the program in the Shahinian Solarium.
Early Armenian immigrants created institutions in their new hometowns in America—among them churches, clubs and political organizations which became focal points of Armenian-American life. Serving no less an important role were the newspapers they established which became a vital forum for the exchange of ideas, news from the old country, world events, community politics and much more.
The Armenian-American press has endured and evolved over the past 125 years and more, reflecting and shaping the community it serves. Today, as all print media struggle for their existence, Armenian-American outlets face the same challenges as well as others unique to their market.
NAASR Board Member Stepan Piligian will serve as the moderator for the evening, which will touch on such questions as: What role does the Armenian-American press serve today? Whom does it serve? What does its future look like?
The distinguished panel will consist of Leeza Arakelian (Assistant Editor, Armenian Weekly), Alin K. Gregorian (Editor, Armenian Mirror-Spectator) and Stephen Kurkjian (Pulitzer Prize winner, Boston Globe and NAASR Board Member).
For more information about this program, contact NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org.
Author information
NAASR
The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research was launched in March 1955 with a vision to promote Armenian Studies by establishing endowed chairs at some of the foremost universities in the United States.
PARAMUS, NJ– As part of the “One Village” Consortium, AMAA-Armenia was instrumental in obtaining a Belarus tractor for the Navur Village (Tavush Region) near the Azeri border in December 2019. The tractor, donated by the Director of North Hills LLC Arshavir Gevorgyan and benefactors George and Khachik Titizian of Los Angeles, CA, was a much-needed item for the community.
Mher Nikoyan, Director of the Cooperative, expressed his sincere gratitude to the AMAA and the North Hills LLC, as well as to George and Khachik Titizian for this generous donation which will greatly help the Navur Community.
Established in 2014, the non-profit “Navur Community Agricultural Consumers Cooperative,” which is governed by its members, provides low cost agricultural services to the community.
AMAA-Armenia is one of eleven organizations forming the Consortium: The Armenian Missionary Association of America-Armenia (AMAA-Armenia), “Shen: Charity NGO, Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), Development Principles NGO, Fund for Armenian Relief, World Vision Armenia, Teach For Armenia (TA), World Council of Churches Armenia Round Table Foundation, Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), Armenian Caritas Benevolent NGO and “Diaconia” Charitable Fund.
Author information
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles written and submitted by members of the community, which make up our community bulletin board.
The Armenian Youth Federation, Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) Eastern United States would like to announce that the Intern application for the 2020 AYF Internship in Armenia is now open. The dates of the program will be finalized in the coming weeks and will take place from mid-June to mid-August. 
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— To commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, Zoravik will be presenting a screening of a film about Hrant Dink followed by a discussion of the film and of Dink’s legacy. The event will take place on January 19, 2020 at 7:30 pm in Harvard’s Fong Auditorium in Boylston Hall. The event will be free and open to the public.
Zoravik (“in solidarity”) is a Boston-based Armenian activist collective that promotes new avenues for political and grassroots organizing and project-based engagement for progressives. Formed in the wake of the Velvet Revolution, the group seeks to mobilize the political, cultural, and social institutions of the diaspora to support and encourage transformative efforts in Armenian communities worldwide. For more information, visit
NEW YORK, NY–A book published by the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) was highly recommended by Turkish novelist Elif Shafak in an interview appearing in the December 26, 2019, issue of the 
“The Last Inhabitant” is set to be screened at the ACEC on February 6
